The Body
by claudius
Summary: Kenshin is affected by a darkly-familiar situation of his own making. Warning: Contains spoilers to the Jinchuu Saga.


The Body

By claudius

I do not own anything on _Rurouni Kenshin, _characters and plotlines by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

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Himura Kenshin saw the body. He helped cause it.

He saw it covered in blood. That was no mistake. His sword had caused the scarlet fluid to flow from many a person. The repetition carved the red slime permanently into his memory.

He saw the body shiver. That too was an engraved part of his knowledge. He could vividly remember how a dying body twitched its life away.

And he heard it scream. How many times did he witness the strongest of opponents break their composure and cry their final sounds?

The sight of the body was becoming too sensitive to watch. Kenshin shut his eyes, as strong emotion poured through from his gentle demeanor. His left hand fell upon his pupils, massaging them from the intense scene they were watching. It didn't work.

_How did it come to this? _

Kenshin's thoughts and memories gave him images that brought no answer to this query. It spawned more questions, all devoted to the past, all centered upon _her_.

Kamiya Kaoru.

Did it start when the female dojo mistress confronted the wanderer that spring of 1878, accusing him of dishonoring her school by wicked crimes? When she remorsefully offered him a home at her dojo to end his wanderings? Or was it that night when her cry of mercy broke Udo Jin-e's death spell, saving his future as well as her own? And yet, could it have been the farewell embrace he gave her that firefly-lit night, before departing for a battle he wasn't sure he or his vow could survive?

Kenshin brooded further on what happened after that battle in Kyoto. Einishi, the avenger from the Battosai's past. His _Jinchuu_ fulfilled with the corpse that had Kaoru's features, staked onto a wall in a grisly fashion. Kenshin shuddered at the period of deep self-destruction that sight had brought him back then. It ruined a decade when he sought redemption for his crimes by using his _Sakabato_ to protect. That was all brought to naught when he failed to protect _her_. He felt so tired then, so tired of life.

Then came the revelation that her death was false, and his revival. Was that truth the omen for this present? His loss had revealed feelings he tried to deny, feelings he could not bury like his true nature. He could not lose her again. A reunion saw true feelings admitted. Soon after, the Battosai bonded with the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu mistress in body and soul.

His mind returning to the present, Kenshin looked at his wife with apologetic eyes. In bed Kaoru was withdrawn, having suffered through the most excruciating pain. It was a pain that he could not share, no matter how much he wished to relieve it from her. Her torture was his fault.

All he could do was weep. He had seen death before. He would see it again.

Not today.

"It's a boy, Ken-san," said Megumi.

Kenshin rubbed his face, feeling a joy that overwhelmed his fears. Joy, for this body's screams were not the cries of a finished life, but a dawning one. The shivering body quieted down its early screams, its bloodied body wrapped in a swath.

Megumi delivered to Kenshin's arms the warm body of his son. Her eyes were congratulatory, proud in bringing his child to the world, as well as regret that it wasn't hers. The one with that honor channeled every ounce of strength of her exhausted condition to see the fruit of her labor.

The new father remained at his spot, cradling the small newborn. Its appearance amazed the former killer. The more Kenshin saw the child, the more his previous reservations began to fade. His past would not be forgotten, but it could stand for something more than sadness. Might it now stand as a degree this wondrous event could surpass? He had ended many lives. Now, he had helped bring life.

The tiny mouth gaped open for another cry. The voice was staggering to Kenshin. But then he was already staggered, in the heart, in the soul. A smile opened upon his lips, showing the optimism as well as the sadness. This was one more life he had to protect. But it could mean so much more. Could this body that shivered with life mean that maybe, just maybe, that some redemption had been made for its father? Was it a symbol of the future, Kenshin pondered, a sign that he must never fail again, for his son's sake as well as his own?

Kenshin drew his finger upon the body's right cheek. It was as smooth as his own was marked. It must stay that way. He returned to Kaoru with their son, hopeful in that future's reality.

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Yes, I know this fic is similar to my _The Crawling Monster_, but I thought it worth writing anyway.


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